11 persons of trust became government employees bypassing normal enrollment channels

Eleven individuals who were employed on a person-of-trust basis by the previous administration were given a job by the government without following the normal enrollment channels.

Addressing a press conference on the public service, principal permanent secretary Mario Cutajar said that the Labour government would not repeat the same wrongdoings carried out by the previous administration.

“I don’t believe the government has abused of the option to employ persons on a position-of-trust basis. Such positions have been around for a long time. There were attempts to drawing up guidelines about such positions … However, I can guarantee that none of these positions will be turned into a permanent job with the civil service,” Cutajar said.

The Public Service Commission, he added, found 11 such cases where a person employed in a position of trust became a regular government employment without going through the usual enrollment channels.

“The fact that this has always been the case does not justify it.”

Speaking about the civil service, Cutajar said over 8,000 civil servants underwent training in various sectors, including management.

Cutajar spoke of measures adopted by the civil service giving employees the chance to balance work and life.

“The civil services is potentially the only employer which offers a vast range of flexibility and family-friendly working conditions. At the moment there are more than 5,000 civil servants benefiting from such measures,” he said.